filing an amended return for 1994.
To do this,
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Instructions for Form 3903-F
Foreign Moving Expenses
Paperwork Reduction Act Notice.—We ask for the information on this form to carry out the
Internal Revenue laws of the United States. You are required to give us the information. We
need it to ensure that you are complying with these laws and to allow us to figure and collect
the right amount of tax.
The time needed to complete and file this form will vary depending on individual
circumstances. The estimated average times are:
Copying,
assembling, and
Learning about the Preparing sending the form to
Recordkeeping law or the form the form the IRS
Part I only 20 min. 3 min. 13 min. 20 min.
Parts II & III only 52 min. 4 min. 35 min. 20 min.
Parts I, II, & III 1 hr., 12 min. 5 min. 46 min. 35 min.
If you have comments concerning the accuracy of these time estimates or suggestions for
making this form simpler, we would be happy to hear from you. You can write to both the IRS
and the Office of Management and Budget at the addresses listed in the Instructions for Form
1040.
General Instructions States or its possessions, you may be able to
deduct your moving expenses. You may be
able to take the deduction whether you are
Changes To Note
self-employed or an employee. But you must
New rules apply to expenses incurred after meet certain tests explained next.
1993. Under the new rules, the distance test
has been increased from 35 to 50 miles. The Distance Test.—For moving expenses
cost of meals, pre-move househunting incurred in 1994, your new principal
expenses, temporary quarters expenses, and workplace must be at least 50 miles farther
qualified real estate expenses is no longer from your old home than your old workplace
was. For example, if your old workplace was
deductible. In addition, the deduction is
allowed in figuring adjusted gross income 3 miles from your old home, your new
workplace must be at least 53 miles from that
(i.e., you no longer need to itemize
deductions to claim moving expenses). home. If you did not have an old workplace,
your new workplace must be at least 50 miles
from your old home. The distance between
Purpose of Form
the two points is the shortest of the more
Use Form 3903-F to figure your moving commonly traveled routes between them.
expense deduction if you are a U.S. citizen or
resident alien who moved to a new principal For moving expenses incurred before 1994,
place of work (workplace) outside the United your new principal workplace must be at least
States or its possessions. If you qualify to 35 miles farther from your old home than your
deduct expenses for more than one move, old workplace was.
use a separate Form 3903-F for each move. Time Test.—If you are an employee, you
Note: Use Form 3903, Moving Expenses, must work full time in the general area of your
instead of this form if you moved from a new workplace for at least 39 weeks during
foreign country to the United States or its the 12 months right after you move. If you are
possessions because of a change in the self-employed, you must work full time in the
location of your job. Form 3903 should also general area of your new workplace for at
be used by retirees and survivors who qualify least 39 weeks during the first 12 months and
to deduct their expenses for moving from a a total of at least 78 weeks during the 24
foreign country to the United States or its months right after you move.
possessions. You may deduct your moving expenses
even if you have not met the time test before
Additional Information your tax return is due. You may do this if you
For more details, get Pub. 521, Moving expect to meet the 39-week test by the end
Expenses. Retirees and survivors should also of 1995 or the 78-week test by the end of
get Pub. 521 for an explanation of the 1996. If you deduct your moving expenses on
requirements that must be met to deduct your 1994 return but do not meet the time
moving expenses. test, you will have to either:
● Amend your 1994 tax return by filing Form
Other Forms You May Have To 1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax
File Return, or
● Report the amount of your 1994 moving
If you sold your main home in 1994, you must expense deduction that reduced your 1994
file Form 2119, Sale of Your Home, to report income tax as income in the year you cannot
the sale.
meet the test. For more details, see Time
Who May Deduct Moving Test in Pub. 521.
If you do not deduct your moving expenses
Expenses on your 1994 return and you later meet the
If you moved to a different home because of time test, you may take the deduction by
a change in job location outside the United
Cat. No. 64387M
use Form 1040X.
Exceptions to the Time Test.—The time test
does not have to be met in case of death.
You do not have to meet the time test if any
of the following apply:
● Your job ends because of disability.
● You are transferred for your employer’s
benefit.
● You are laid off or discharged for a reason
other than willful misconduct.
Members of the Armed Forces
If you are in the armed forces, you do not
have to meet the distance and time tests if
the move is due to a permanent change of
station. A permanent change of station
includes a move in connection with and
within 1 year of retirement or other
termination of active duty.
How To Complete Part I of Form 3903-F.—
First, complete lines 3 through 5 using your
actual expenses. Do not reduce your
expenses by any reimbursements or
allowances you received from the government
in connection with the move. Also, do not
include any expenses for moving services
that were provided by the government. If you
and your spouse and dependents are moved
to or from different locations, treat the moves
as a single move.
Next, enter on line 6 the total
reimbursements and allowances you received
from the government in connection with the
expenses you claimed on lines 3 and 4. Do
not include the value of moving services
provided by the government. Then, complete
line 7 if applicable.
How To Complete Parts II and III of Form
3903-F.—If the total reimbursements and
allowances you received from the government
in connection with moving expenses incurred
before 1994 are more than your actual such
expenses, include the excess in income on
Form 1040, line 7. Do not complete Parts II
and III of Form 3903-F. Otherwise, complete
lines 3 through 14 using your actual
expenses. Do not reduce your expenses by
any reimbursements or allowances you
received from the government in connection
with the move. Also, do not include any
expenses for moving services that were
provided by the government. If you and your
spouse and dependents are moved to or from
different locations, treat the moves as a
single move.
Next, complete lines 15 through 17. Then,
read the instructions for line 18 on the next
page.
Deductible Moving Expenses
You may deduct certain reasonable expenses
you incur in moving your family and
dependent household members. For moving
expenses incurred in 1994, these are
transportation and storage of household
goods and personal effects (Part I, line 3) and
travel and lodging expenses (other than
expenses for meals) of moving from your old
home to your new home (Part I, line 4).
For moving expenses incurred before 1994,
deductible moving expenses include those
shown in Sections A through D of Part II.
Regardless of when the expenses were
incurred, you may not deduct expenses of a
loss on the sale of your home, mortgage
penalties, refitting draperies and carpets, or
canceling club memberships. Do not deduct
expenses for employees such as a servant,
governess, or nurse.
Reimbursements
If your employer paid for any part of your
move, your employer must give you a
statement showing a detailed breakdown of
reimbursements or payments for moving
expenses. Your employer may use Form
4782, Employee Moving Expense Information,
or his or her own form.
You may choose to deduct moving
expenses in the year you are reimbursed by
your employer, even though you paid the
expenses in a different year. However, special
rules apply. See How To Report in Pub. 521.
No Double Benefits
If you file Form 2555, Foreign Earned Income,
to exclude any of your income or housing
costs, you may not deduct the part of your
moving expenses that is allocable to the
excluded income. But for moving expenses
incurred in 1994, report the full amount on
Form 3903-F and on Form 1040, line 24, and
the unallowable part on Form 2555, line 42.
For moving expenses incurred before 1994,
report the unallowable part on Form 3903-F,
line 19. For details on how to figure the part
allocable to the excluded income, get Pub.
54, Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident
Aliens Abroad.
Specific Instructions
Part I—Moving Expenses
Incurred in 1994
Line 3.—Enter the actual cost to pack, crate,
move, store, and insure your household
goods and personal effects. Also, include the
cost of moving your possessions to and from
storage and storing them for all or part of the
time the new workplace continues to be your
principal workplace.
Note: You don’t have to complete this form if
(1) you moved in an earlier year, (2) you are
claiming only storage fees during your
absence from the United States, and (3) any
amount your employer paid for the storage
fees is included in the wages box of your W-2
form. Instead, enter the storage fees on Form
1040, line 24, and write “Storage” next to the
amount.
Line 4.—Enter the costs of travel from your
old home to your new home. These include
transportation and lodging on the way.
Include costs for the day you arrive. Although
not all the members of your household have
to travel together or at the same time, you
may only include expenses for one trip per
person.
If you use your own car(s), you may figure
the expenses by using either:
● Actual out-of-pocket expenses for gas and
oil, or
● Mileage at the rate of 9 cents a mile.
You may add parking fees and tolls to the
amount claimed under either method. Keep
records to verify your expenses.
Part II—Moving Expenses
Incurred Before 1994
Caution: Do not include expenses you
deducted on a prior year’s return.
Line 3.—Enter the actual cost to pack, crate,
move, store, and insure your household
goods and personal effects. Also, include the
cost of moving your possessions to and from
storage and the cost of storing them for all or
part of the time the new workplace continues
to be your principal workplace.
Page 2
Note: If you moved in an earlier year and are
claiming only storage fees during your
absence from the United States, you do not
have to complete this form. Enter the net
amount (after the reduction for the part that is
allocable to excluded income) on Schedule A
(Form 1040), line 27. Next to the amount,
write “Storage.”
Lines 4 and 5.—Enter the costs of travel
from your old home to your new home. These
include transportation, meals, and lodging on
the way. Include costs for the day you arrive.
Report the cost of transportation and lodging
on line 4. Report your meals separately on
line 5. Although not all the members of your
household have to travel together or at the
same time, you may only include expenses
for one trip per person.
If you use your own car(s), figure
transportation costs as explained in the
instructions for Part I, line 4.
Lines 8 through 10.—Enter the costs of
travel to look for a new home before you
move and temporary quarters expenses after
you move. Report pre-move househunting
travel and lodging on line 8, temporary
quarters expenses on line 9, and the
combined cost of meals on line 10.
Pre-move househunting expenses are
deductible only if you:
● Took the trip after you got the job, and
● Returned to your old home after looking for
a new one, and
● Traveled to the general location of the new
workplace primarily to look for a new home.
There is no limit on the number of
househunting trips you may take and you do
not have to be successful in finding a home
to qualify for this deduction. If you used your
own car, figure transportation costs as
explained in the instructions for Part I, line 4.
If you are self-employed, you may deduct
househunting costs only if you had already
made substantial arrangements to begin work
in the new location. See Pub. 521 for factors
used to determine if substantial arrangements
were made.
You may deduct the cost of meals and
lodging while occupying temporary quarters
in the area of your new workplace. Include
the costs for any period of 90 days in a row
after you get the job but before you move
into permanent quarters. If you are
self-employed, you may count these
expenses only if you had already made
substantial arrangements to begin work in the
new location.
Lines 13 and 14.—Enter your qualified real
estate expenses. Also, check the appropriate
box, a or b. You may include most of the
costs to sell or buy a home or to settle or get
a lease. Examples of expenses you may
include are:
● Sales commissions.
● Advertising costs.
● Attorney’s fees.
● Title and escrow fees.
● State transfer taxes.
● Costs to settle an unexpired lease such as
attorney’s fees, real estate commissions, or
amounts paid to the lessor.
● Fees or commissions to get a lease,
sublease, or an assignment of a lease.
Examples of expenses you may not include
are:
● Costs to improve your home to help it sell.
Printed on recycled paper
● Charges for payment or prepayment of
interest.
● Payments or prepayments of rent (including
security deposits) to get a new lease.
Note: If you checked box a on line 13, you
cannot use the expenses on line 13 that are
part of your moving expense deduction to
lower the gain on the sale of your old home. If
you checked box a on line 14, you cannot
use the expenses on line 14 that are part of
your deduction to add to the basis of your
new home.
Part III—Dollar Limits and
Moving Expense Deduction For
Expenses Incurred Before 1994
Lines 15 and 17.—The dollar limits on these
lines apply to the total expenses per move
even though you may claim expenses related
to the same move in more than 1 year. For
more details, see How To Report in Pub.
521.
If both you and your spouse began work at
new workplaces and at the end of the year in
which the expenses were incurred you (a)
shared the same new home or (b) made
specific plans to share the same new home
within a determinable time, you must treat
this as one move rather than two. If you file
separate returns, each of you is limited to a
total of $2,250 on line 15, and to a total of
$3,000 on line 17.
If both you and your spouse began work at
new workplaces but each of you moved to
separate new homes, this is treated as two
separate moves. If you file a joint return, line
15 is limited to a total of $9,000, and line 17
is limited to a total of $12,000. If you file
separate returns, each of you is limited to a
total of $4,500 on line 15, and a total of
$6,000 on line 17.
Note: If you checked box a on line 13, any
amount on line 13 that you cannot deduct
because of the dollar limit should be used on
Form 2119 to decrease the gain on the sale
of your old home. If you checked box a on
line 14, use any amount on line 14 that you
cannot deduct because of the dollar limit to
increase the basis of your new home.
Line 18.—If you are a member of the armed
forces, add the amounts on lines 3, 7, and
17. From that total, subtract the total
reimbursements and allowances you received
from the government in connection with the
move. If the result is more than zero, enter
the result on line 18. Then, complete the rest
of the form to figure the amount to enter on
Schedule A, line 27.
Line 19.—If you file Form 2555 and your
period of bona fide residence or physical
presence in the year of your move is 120
days or more, the moving expense is
connected with earning the income at the
foreign location in the year of your move.
Figure the unallowable part of the moving
expenses by multiplying the amount on line
18 by a fraction. The numerator of the
fraction is the excluded income and the
denominator is total foreign earned income.
Enter the result on line 19. Attach a statement
to your return showing how you figured this
amount.
If your period of bona fide residence or
physical presence in the year of your move is
less than 120 days, see Pub. 54 for details
on how to figure the amount to enter on line
19. Also, attach a statement to your return
showing how you figured this amount.